Other Research

Chapter 4: Role of research in cross-cultural communication in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

As New Zealand Society becomes more diverse and the ethnic make-up of our population changes, people in the workplace now, more than at any other time in our history, need to be aware of differences in values, expectations and practices when communicating across cultures. 

The need to develop measurement standards for the social media environment has been apparent for many years, yet public relations practitioners have been slow to move beyond boundaries of 'hits' and 'search results'...This paper seeks to suggest an approach to evaluating online activity and engagement as part of - not separate from - total evaluation of campaigns, programmes and public relations function, which is, of course, concerned with building and sustaining the relationships necessary for an organisaiton to function.

Changing demands in the social, commercial and media environment are having a direct impact on public relation practice in New Zealand. Academics propose the field should be viewed as a management function, as a relationship builder, as a conscience to the organization, but the reality of the marketplace is a more powerful determinant of the role of public relations. The study explores where public relations is placed in New Zealand business hierarchy, what perceptions business leaders have about public relation and where these senior managers are deriving their opinions from. 

This paper records the initial observations from a series of action research site visits, in an ongoing, long-term programme of workplace ethics research. At time of writing six communication departments and public relations consultancies had been involved to varying degrees as action research sites, of a planned 12. The participants had provided verbal and written feedback documenting their thoughts on ethics, their reactions to the ethics tool that was demonstrated to them, and their suggestions for its improvement and for the improvement of ethics in the communication field generally. The ethics pyramid proved a useful ‘way in’ to the topic of ethics; that is, it was functioning as an approach to facilitating dialogue as well as a tool in its own right.

A survey of New Zealand public relations practitioners has found the use of PR measurement varying from non-existent to continuous. The web-based survey was conducted for the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand by Shattock Communications & Research Ltd. It asked 284 PRINZ members about the public relations measurement practices of their employing organisation (in-house and not-for-profit members) or the client they work with most (consultants). The survey was conducted between 15 and 19 March 2004. The results have a statistical margin of probability of plus or minus 5.9 per cent (at a 95 per cent confidence level).

It is sometimes said that the debate about ‘public relations’ versus ‘communication management’ and/or any other terminology for our role has been had, past tense. But whether a debate has been properly conducted or not, the naming issues for public relations are not resolved. The profession’s own reputation remains a major concern with serious implications for practitioners, scholars, and therefore also for clients and businesses who use public relations services. Has public relations become a term misunderstood beyond redemption, its use tarnishing not only those who practise it or study it, but also those who purchase it? If so, what are the alternatives?

How do we know that we have been successful online? As public relations practitioners, our purpose is to build and sustain the relationships necessary for organisations, communities and individuals to function, or at the very least develop the relationship to such an extent that the organisation is afforded its license to operate...This overview seeks to examine the evolution of online measurement and evaluation and, in particular, provide signposts to some of the systems and approaches now being used to monitor and measure the social media environment.

This report focuses on the second World Internet Project New Zealand survey, conducted two years after the 2007 benchmark survey. The report provides an overview of New Zealanders’ usage of, and attitudes towards, the Internet in 2009. It contains analysis of top‐level data from the survey conducted in August – September 2009. A national probability sample of 1250 New Zealanders were questioned about their involvement with the Internet.

This article reports on an 18-month research project to develop a simple ‘‘propaganda index’’ that measures levels and types of propaganda content in texts. It is argued that communicators could make ‘‘terrorism information’’ materials and other potentially controversial public communication outputs more ethical and effective by ensuring propagandistic means are minimized.

This article reports the results of a qualitative survey question asking New Zealand journalists for their thoughts on public relations. The findings provide the first empirical support for the widespread anecdotal suggestion that there is a deeply held antagonism between these two professions in this country, but also indicate that the antagonism is not straightforward. Overall, the results show that many New Zealand journalists are profoundly conflicted about the value of public relations, often holding two dissonant views and expressing each passionately. These findings indicate New Zealand attitudes mirror international historical attitudes in most respects, but depart from them in some notable ways. The research gives a clearer picture of the origin and nature of some of the stereotypes and resentments that characterise the relationship between these two professions. It also raises important questions about the implications for both journalists and public relations practitioners of working within a relationship in which there are forceful and dichotomous conceptualisations by one party of another. The strength of ambiguous feeling evident in many of the statements suggests that there is a need to consider the impact on individuals and on professional decision-making processes of such entrenched, ardent, and in many cases hostile, views, as well as to question the applicability of this kind of longstanding professional cultural ‘stance’ to today’s changing media landscape.